Windshield cover

ABSTRACT

A windshield cover having a first panel adapted to overlie the windshield and the caul of an automobile, a second and third panel adapted to overlie at least the upper portion of the front doors of the automobile, third and fourth panels adapted to lie between the front doors and the adjacent cab portion of the automobile when the front doors are in a closed position thereby preventing theft of the windshield cover, the windshield cover being adapted to protect the windshield of the automobile.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a cover device and moreparticularly to a device for covering the windshield and the windowglass in the driver's side and passenger's side doors of an automotivevehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Cover devices have been known for many years. Perhaps one of thefirst cover devices was merely an animal skin that early man placed overitems that he wanted to protect. Today there are literally thousands ofcovers for many purposes. One category of cover devices are those thatmake use of a fabric such as canvas for protective purposes. Included inthis category are tents, tarps for covering grain and the like.

[0003] Cover devices are known for use in covering portions of theautomobile. These cover devices include canvas covers for automobiles.Such covers may be used in the storage of classic cars. Cover devices,typically referred to as sun shields, have been provided in the past forwindshields to protect from the sun. The sun often raises the interiorof the automobile to extreme temperatures that cause damage to theinterior of the automobile. The extreme temperatures may cause thepolymer surfaces in the automobile to crack and/or discolor. The sunshields generally approximate the size of the interior of thewindshield. The sun shields are generally trapped at the lower edge bythe dashboard and along the upper edge by the small sun visors of theautomobile.

[0004] Prior sun visors have certain inherent problems and shortcomings.For example, such sun visors typically do not fit snugly against thewindow and therefore a zone exists between the sun visor and the windowwhere heat is created by the sun. This heated zone feeds hot air intothe interior cab portion of the automobile. The sun visor may be easilydislodged and by merely falling out of place between the dashboard andthe sun visors. The prior sun visors are not effective for protectingthe windshield from frost, snow and/or freezing rain. The presentinvention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art by providing acover that may be lodged as a cover on the outside of the windshield.The present cover includes mechanism to securely lock the device inplace, preventing unintentional dislodgment of the device from itsprotective location.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

[0005] The present invention is a protective cover for an automotivewindshield which overlies the outside surface of the windshield. Thepresent automotive windshield may include a primary panel thatapproximates the size of the outer surface of the windshield, an upperpanel that overlies the forward most portion of the roof surface andmechanism to lock the device in place. The locking mechanism may be atab or panel the extends through the space between the closed door ofthe automobile and the frame around the door. A locking mechanism may beprovided at each side edge of the device thereby securing the device atboth of the closed doors of the automobile.

[0006] The present protective cover may include a pair of fabric layers,an inner layer disposed adjacent the windshield and an outer layerexposed to the weather during use. The fabric is desirably waterrepellant. The fabric may be decoratively colored with fade resistantdye. A heat transmitting sheet or member may be disposed between theinner layer and the outer layer. The heat transmitting member may be ofany suitable material, such as a radiant barrier. A suitable radiantbarrier is available from Astro-Foil of Lowell, Ind. under thedesignation Heatshield II. In a similar manner the windshield cover ofthe present invention may be placed over the rear window of theautomobile with the flanges being locked in the rear doors of theautomobile.

IN THE DRAWINGS

[0007] FIG. I shows an automobile with the cover device of the presentinvention in place to protect the windshield;

[0008] FIG. II is a plan view of the present invention;

[0009] FIG. III is a sectional view of the present invention taken alongthe line III-III.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

[0010] The windshield cover device 10 (FIG. I-III) of the presentinvention may be suitably used on an automobile 11. The automobile 11may be any type of automobile including sedans, pick-up trucks, vans andthe like. The automobile 11 has a pair of doors 12 and a plurality ofwindows including a windshield 13 and side windows 14. The automobile 11includes a horizontal surface or cawl 16 that may be provided by theframe 17 underlying the windshield 13 and/or a portion of the hood 18.The protection to the cawl 16 prevents ice and snow from accumulating inthe area that provides air input to the air conditioning unit of theautomobile.

[0011] The windshield cover device 10 (FIG. II) may include a primarypanel 21. Panel 21 may be of a size suitable for protecting thewindshield. For example, the size of panel 21 may approximate the sizeof the windshield 13 of the automobile 11. The device 10 desirably hasan upper panel 22 adapted to engage a horizontal portion of the roof 19of the automobile. The upper panel 22 may hingedly connected to theprimary panel 21 along line 23.

[0012] Device 10 may include a pair of side panels 24 and 26 thatoverlie at least a portion of each of the side windows 14. The sidepanels 24 and 26 may be hingedly connected to the primary panel 21 alonglines 27 and 28, respectively. The device 10 may include a pair ofupside down pockets 37 and 38 in the upper portion of side panels 24 and26 that serve to encase the upper portion of each side door 12 of theautomobile 11.

[0013] The side panels 24 and 26 may each include a locking flange 29,31 respectively. The locking flanges 29 and 31 may be similarlyconstructed. Flanges 29 and 31 may be hingedly connected to panels 24and 26 along lines 32, 33, respectively. Flanges 29 and 31 may include athicken portion 29 a and 31 a for purposes hereinafter described. Thedevice 10 may have a pair of side flanges 34 and 36 for purposeshereinafter described.

[0014] The device 10 may be of any suitable construction. A preferredembodiment is shown in FIG. III including an inner layer of fabric 41and an outer layer of fabric 42. The fabric layer 41 and fabric layer 42may form an envelop 43 that surrounds a layer of heat transmittingmaterial 44 such as of Heatshield(TM). The hinges 26 and 27, forexample, may be formed by compressing the device along the respectivelines. Various modifications may be made to the present inventionwithout departing from the scope of the following claims. For example,the windshield cover may be used for protection in the summer as well asthe winter. The present windshield cover may be made of any of manymaterials including fabric as well as sheet material.

What is claimed is:
 1. A windshield cover comprising a first paneladapted to overlie the windshield and the caul of an automobile, asecond and third panel adapted to overlie at least the upper portion ofthe front doors of the automobile, third and fourth panels adapted tolie between the front doors and the adjacent cab portion of theautomobile when the front doors are in a closed position, therebypreventing theft of the windshield cover, said cover being adapted toprotect the windshield of the automobile.
 2. The windshield cover ofclaim 1 wherein said third and fourth panels each include a thickenedportion that lies entrapped within the automobile passenger compartmentand prevents theft of the windshield cover when the front doors areclosed and locked.
 3. The windshield cover of claim 2 wherein said coverincludes first and second pockets that overlie the upper rear comer ofthe front doors of the automobile thereby holding the cover in place asthe doors are moved to a closed position.
 4. The windshield cover ofclaim 3 wherein said windshield cover includes a top panel that overliesthe forward upper portion of the roof of the automobile when the coveris secured in place on the automobile.
 5. The windshield cover of claim1 wherein said windshield cover comprises an inner heat transmittinglayer and a pair of outer protective layers overlying said inner layer.6. A windshield cover comprising a first panel adapted to overlie thewindshield of an automobile, a second and third panel adapted to liebetween the front doors and the adjacent cab portion of the automobilewhen the front doors are in a closed position, thereby preventing theftof the windshield cover, said cover being adapted to protect thewindshield of the automobile.
 7. The windshield cover of claim 6 furtherincluding third and fourth panels adapted to overlie at least the upperportion of the front doors of the automobile.
 8. The windshield cover ofclaim 7 wherein said first panel adapted to overlie the windshield andthe caul of an automobile.
 9. A windshield cover comprising a firstpanel adapted to overlie the windshield of an automobile and lockingmeans to prevent theft of the windshield cover, said cover being adaptedto protect the windshield of the automobile.
 10. The windshield cover ofclaim 9 wherein said locking means comprise a second and third paneladapted to lie between the front doors and the adjacent cab portion ofthe automobile when the front doors are in a closed position.